Queen Elizabeth II began her final journey on Sunday, her coffin leaving the royal estate of Balmoral in Scotland, to spend the night in Edinburgh, greeted by thousands of emotional people massed along the route. He will return to London on Tuesday, ahead of the state funeral on September 19.
The oak coffin, which passed through the gates of Balmoral shortly following 10 a.m., was covered with the Scottish royal standard on which had been placed a wreath of white heather, dahlias and sweet peas, from the gardens of the Balmoral estate.
Thousands of people had massed along the route, some in mourning, others crushing a tear or bowing their heads as the convoy passed, to salute one last time the one who had reigned 70 years and 7 months, presence familiar and reassuring, but always mysterious, having crossed times and crises imperturbably. Several people applauded the procession, made up of seven vehicles. Princess Anne, daughter of the late sovereign, had taken her place with her husband Tim Laurence in a limousine following the royal hearse.
The motorcade arrived in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, around 4 p.m. following a journey of nearly 300 kilometers. He will spend the night there at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Scottish royal residence.
King Charles III is expected there on Monday for a religious ceremony at Saint-Gilles Cathedral, where the coffin will be transferred.
A simple and relaxed life
Britons had come to Balmoral, for this last tribute to the sovereign who died Thursday at the age of 96 in her Scottish castle. “Her Majesty has selflessly given her life and time to us. Paying homage to her in a traditional way was a way of thanking her for all she has done,” said Mark Lindley-Highfield, a 47-year-old academic who arrived from Inverness, two hours north by car. For the occasion, he wears a black tail coat and a top hat.
On the course, some throw flowers on the convoy. The hearse first passed through Ballater, the village very close to the castle, where the queen, who had come to Balmoral since her childhood, was very well known. The inhabitants made him a guard of honour, collected, motionless at the edge of the road. Protected by the vastness of the royal domain (more than 20,000 hectares of moors, forests and agricultural land), the queen liked to spend the summer there. She lived a simpler and more relaxed life there.
His funeral will take place on September 19 at Westminster Abbey in London, a mecca for royal weddings, coronations and burials for nearly a millennium. It was there that the one who was still only the young Princess Elizabeth had married in November 1947 to 21-year-old Philip Mountbatten. It was also there that she was crowned on June 2, 1953 at the age of 27, 16 months following becoming queen on the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952.
An unchanging ritual
Dignitaries from around the world are expected, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as many royalty.
Hundreds of thousands of people should also pay their last respects to him at the Palace of Westminster, where his coffin will rest from September 14 to 19, before being transferred to the abbey for the funeral which will begin at 10:00 GMT, decreed a public holiday in UK.
After being proclaimed king on Saturday in London, King Charles III was once more on Saturday in the other three constituent countries of the United Kingdom, during ceremonies with an immutable ritual, in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. Twenty-one cannon shots were fired in the three towns.
On Saturday, during the proclamation ceremony at Saint James’s Palace in London, he said he was “deeply aware of this great heritage, of the duties and the heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which are now transmitted to me”, following welcoming the reign of his mother “unsurpassed in duration, devotion and devotion”. “In assuming these responsibilities, I will endeavor to follow the inspiring example given to me,” he added.
Her son William, now heir to the throne and Prince of Wales, also paid a moving tribute to his grandmother. “She was by my side in my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day was coming, but it will take time to get used to the reality of life without Grandma,” an “extraordinary queen,” he said on Saturday. “I will honor his memory by supporting my father, the king, in any way I can.”
William et Harry
The prince then created a surprise by going with his wife Kate, but also his brother Harry and his wife Meghan to admire the flowers placed in front of Windsor Castle in tribute to Elizabeth II, where the highly acclaimed quartet took a long bath. crowd. The two couples are notoriously cold. While Harry and Meghan are now settled in California, they hadn’t been seen together in public for more than two years. They all left in the same car, but the faces were closed, the interactions minimal. According to The Times newspaper, it had taken “expanded negotiations” behind the scenes between the two camps, delaying their appearance by 45 minutes.
Increasingly frail in recent months, Queen Elizabeth has devoted her life to the monarchy. On Tuesday, she was still working, receiving in audience the resigning Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, whom she had asked to create a new government. The monarch had, however, remained at Balmoral for these audiences, too weak to travel. Her last photo shows her receiving Liz Truss, smiling and leaning on a cane. The next day, her health deteriorating, she canceled an online appearance. His death was announced Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Liz Truss controversy
The British Prime Minister’s planned attendance at ceremonies across the country to honor the memory of Elizabeth II drew criticism in the UK on Sunday, prompting Downing Street to assure that she was not officially “accompanying” her in this tour. “The Prime Minister is not ‘accompanying’ the king and it is not a ‘tour’. She will simply attend the ceremonies, ”said Downing Street, faced with the growing controversy accusing Liz Truss of wanting to take political advantage of the occasion. The day before, Downing Street had indicated that Ms. Truss, appointed Prime Minister only on Tuesday by Elizabeth II, “(would) join the king when he leads national mourning across the United Kingdom, by attending ceremonies of meditation” in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The Prime Minister’s teams have been working to quell the budding controversy. ” It’s not an obligation. But the Prime Minister feels it is important to be present for what will be an important moment of national mourning across the UK,” Downing Street said. The new king must go to each of the four nations that make up the country following the death of his mother.
Source: AFP
Queen Elizabeth II began her final journey on Sunday, her coffin leaving the royal estate of Balmoral in Scotland, to spend the night in Edinburgh, greeted by thousands of emotional people massed along the route. He will return to London on Tuesday, ahead of the state funeral on September 19. The oak coffin, which passed through the gates of Balmoral shortly following 10 a.m., was…
